Cinematographer Gordon Willis 1931-2014

The Prince Of Darkness

Cinematographer Gordon Willis (1931-2014) filming on location in New York City in an undated photo.

One of the most acclaimed cinematographers ever, Willis created immortal images for such films as "The Godfather" trilogy, "All the President's Men," and several of Woody Allen's most successful works, including "Annie Hall" and "Manhattan." Renowned for the dark realism of his lighting and color palette compared to his Hollywood contemporaries, Willis was referred to - not without humor - as the "Prince of Darkness."

By CBSNews.com senior producer David Morgan

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"The Godfather"

Gordon Willis' most famous work was in Francis Ford Coppola's 1972 film, "The Godfather." Unlike the brightly-lit images of most studio productions or the gritty, handheld look of "The French Connection," "The Godfather" was dark, imbued with a warm light enveloped with exaggerated shadows. It was lighting that drew audiences into a private, emotionally-fraught family drama, making the bloody violence of the film even more impactful.

Credit: Paramount Pictures

"The Godfather"

Some studio execs were aghast when they first saw rushes of Gordon Willis' cinematography -- they couldn't see the eyes of their highly-paid star, Marlon Brando. Willis said he intentionally used low-key lighting to create shadows that masked Brando's eyes, and his intent, to make the character of Vito Corleone even more mysterious and menacing.

"The Godfather"

"Klute"

Willis' first credits as director of photography included "End of the Road" (1970), "Loving," "The Landlord," and "Little Murders" - counter-culture New York stories that benefitted from his anti-establishment take on traditional Hollywood lighting in which shadows barely registered.

One of Gordon Willis' earliest successes was Alan J. Pakula's 1971 thriller, "Klute," in which Jane Fonda played a prostitute implicated in a murder investigation. Here, Willis' trademark shadows were already in view, as was the framing of characters that increased the sense of tension between them.

"The Paper Chase"

"All the President's Men"

In "All the President's Men" (1976), Bob Woodward (Robert Redford) and Carl Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman) sift through two years' worth of check-out slips at the Library of Congress, seeking a connection to a White House staffer.

Cinematographer Gordon Willis visualized the scene as one of looking for a needle in a haystack, by slowly raising the camera - aimed down on the intrepid reporters and stacks of papers - to the roof of the Library of Congress' rotunda.

Credit: Warner Brothers

"All the President's Men"

The reporter's source, "Deep Throat," is heavily camouflaged by darkness in a parking garage in "All the President's Men." Cinematography by Gordon Willis.

Credit: Warner Brothers

"The Godfather Part II"

Young Vito Corleone, quarantined at Ellis Island, in "The Godfather Part II" (1974). Cinematography by Gordon Willis.

Credit: Paramount Pictures

"The Godfather Part II"

Vito Corleone (Robert De Niro) lies in wait to murder the Black Hand, Fanucci, in "The Godfather Part II" (1974).

Credit: Paramount Pictures

"The Parallax View"

In the conspiracy thriller, "The Parallax View" (1974), Warren Beatty's reporter scampers along an accessway high above a convention hall floor, where a gunshot victim is being carried away on a stretcher. Despite the wide expanse of the frame, characters were nonetheless trapped in Gordon Willis' images.

Credit: Paramount Pictures

"Annie Hall"

Gordon Willis' first film for Woody Allen was the 1977 comedy "Annie Hall," for which his lighting and framing of the characters created a tremendous sense of intimacy.

Credit: United Artists

"Annie Hall"

Alvy Singer (Woody Allen) says goodbye to his girlfriend (played by Diane Keaton) in the final image of the 1977 comedy, "Annie Hall." Cinematography by Gordon Willis.

Credit: United Artists

"Manhattan"

Gordon Willis' iconic image of the pre-dawn light at the Queensborough Bridge, from Woody Allen's "Manhattan" (1979). Filmed in black-and-white and widescreen, the movie was a nostalgic vision of New York City.

Credit: United Artists

"Manhattan"

A vision of romance in a New York penthouse, from the opening montage of Woody Allen's "Manhattan." Cinematography by Gordon Willis.

Credit: United Artists

"Manhattan"

Gordon Willis' widescreen cinematography was ideally suited to this image of the Guggenheim Museum, from "Manhattan."

Credit: United Artists

"Zelig"

Woody Allen's "Zelig" (1983) was a mock-documentary of the chameleonic Leonard Zelig, whose notoriety in the 1920s and 1930s was captured in faux-period newsreels.

Willis expertly matched existing newsreel footage of real people such as Babe Ruth (left) and inserted Woody Allen into the frame. New footage was also degraded - scratched or dragged across the floor to make it appear as aged at the "real" footage.

Credit: Orion Pictures

"Zelig"

Mia Farrow and Woody Allen in Times Square (kind of) in "Zelig."

Willis - whose lighting style had proved controversial for some veteran members of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences - received his first Oscar nomination for Best Cinematography for "Zelig."

Credit: Orion Pictures

"The Purple Rose of Cairo"

Jeff Daniels, playing a character in a 1930s black-and-white film, steps out of the screen and into the life of Mia Farrow in Woody Allen's "The Purple Rose of Cairo" (1985).

Other films by Allen that were photographed by Gordon Willis included "Interiors," "Stardust Memories," "A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy," and "Broadway Danny Rose."

Credit: Orion Pictures

"The Godfather Part III"

Gordon Willis (pictured with Talia Shire) returned to the Corleone saga for Francis Ford Coppola's "The Godfather Part III" (1990).

Credit: Paramount Pictures

"The Godfather Part III"

The confession scene in "The Godfather Part III" (1990), in which Michael Corleone (Al Pacino, right) confesses to the murder of his brother, Fredo. Cinematography by Gordon Willis (who received his second Oscar nomination).

Credit: Paramount PIctures

Governors Awards

Other credits of Gordon Willis included "Comes a Horseman," "Windows" (which he also directed), "Pennies From Heaven," "The Money Pit," "Bright Lights, Big City," "Presumed Innocent," "Malice," and his final film, "The Devil's Own."

In 2009 Gordon Willis was named a recipient of an Honorary Oscar for his lifetime achievements by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences' Governors Awards.